There is one thing certain about shopping for and building a home and thatโs plenty of questions.
As you embark on your homebuying journey, you might find that some of the questions you have โ particularly when it comes to crime stats (Is this a safe neighborhood? How many burglaries and violent crimes have occurred in this neighborhood?) or schools โ canโt be answered by your builderโs sales pro or your real estate agent.
Itโs not that they donโt know the answer and itโs not that theyโre trying to conceal information. There are laws that prevent these professionals from giving the answers you might be searching for.
Buyers often โdonโt understand why we canโt answer those question,โ says Sharon Voss, immediate past president of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association and a Realtor with Watson Realty Corp. โThese are very common questions and they are simple. People donโt think there is anything wrong with those questions and there really isnโt, but in our profession, we canโt answer any of them. We take an oath about fair housing.โ
Much of what Realtors, builders and potential home sellers can disclose is determined by the Fair Housing Act, which Voss points out was enacted to protect homebuyers and rentersโ rights.
Harvey Jacobs, a Potomac, Md., attorney who specializes in housing, explains: โThe federal fair housing act prevents discrimination in housing based on the following protected classes: race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin. Any information that would tend to have an intentional discriminatory effect with respect to these protected classes is prohibited from being disclosed directly.โ
That might seem straightforward enough, but these restrictions have a broad interpretation. For example, regarding religion, subtle phrases such as โwalk to worshipโ can be construed to imply that orthodox synagogues are within walking distance, making those of a different faith feel as if the community is not for them, Jacobs observes.
Most who work in the housing arena are particularly cautious when it comes to anything that might relate to fair housing. โRealtors and builders typically err on the side of caution since they are subject to the many HUD testers who routinely go out into the field and try to solicit potentially discriminatory comments,โ says Jacobs.
So, Where Do You Go For Answers?
While real estate professionals and builders canโt answer specific questions, that doesnโt mean they canโt steer you in the right direction to finding an answer. Jacob uses school ratings as an example: โBest practices would allow a Realtor to state that a school is currently in the โKennedy High School district, which is ranked #4 in the nationโ and then provide the inquirer with a link to those school rankings directly. Itโs probably a good idea is to say that school rankings change regularly as do school zones.โ
Until a few years ago, Voss says an agent would have referred buyers to the Yellow Pages for such information or suggest they call whatever domination they are interested in to find out about places of worship in the area.
Now, the Internet has opened up a much greater universe for potential buyers to find answers to their questions. Sites such as NeighborhoodScout give an in depth profile of an area by zip code, including home prices, professions, crime, ethnicity, languages spoken and education levels, often comparing those rates to a region overall and also nationally. Sperlings Best Places and CityData also provide information that you might find useful in your home search. Visit Great Schools to get the lowdown on schools.
You can go your local police department for crime rates, but if youโd rather look online, other sites, such as CrimeReports, will also give you information. The U.S. Census Bureau is another gold mine of data, although it takes a little more work to uncover what you want. The departmentโs guide, Finding Data For My Community, is a good place to begin.
Another way to learn about the neighborhood is to ask the people who already live there. While touring a community, ask folks who you see walking around how long theyโve lived there, how the schools are, if thereโs any crime, etc. Youโll get information about the neighborhood and you may even meet a future neighbor or two.
When driving in a prospective neighborhood, be sure to drive around at different times of day so you can gauge traffic and how neighbors use any amenities or understand if neighbors stay inside and keep to themselves.
Once youโve moved in, check out Nextdoor, a social networking site for neighborhoods. Neighbors use the site as a resource for whatโs happening in the neighborhood, to post alerts about lost pets and to ask for recommendations for home repair and maintenance. Neighbors on this site also report petty crime that might not show up on police reports.
Camilla McLaughlin is an award-winning writer specializing in house and home. Her work has appeared in leading online and print publications, such as Yahoo! Real Estate, Unique Homes magazine and Realtor magazine. She has also freelanced for the Associated Press.